Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an ARC of this novel. I loved the cover and loved the book. I felt the fear we all might when we have a health scare, think we know our history and find out that might not be the case. Girls have complicated relationships with their moms, but when you lose them young, you have to rely on what they might have left behind, and what others tell you. This story has well developed characters and the plot was intriguing.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book and thought I would enjoy the book itself. However, I couldn't connect to tbe main character as she just felt flat, and the book seemed to drag along.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

When Sienna has a cancer scare, the same disease her mother died from at 23, she immediately wants more information from her dad. After her dad’s refusal to go down that path with her, she now must find out on her own. Filled with a deep desire to find out the past, she jeopardizes her future. Sienna was a tough nut to crack and we never really get to know her. I also found the mystery of her mother to not be worth the secrets kept bottled up for so many years. This book could have packed an emotional punch, but it just didn’t live up to expectations.

This is a book with which I thought I would relate, but I really did not. As a motherless daughter myself, I thought I would empathize more with Sienna, but I found her to be unrelatable, especially in terms of her treatment of her own health. I enjoyed the aspects of the novel related to Sienna’s mother, but there wasn’t enough substance to pull it all together for me. Perhaps it hit a bit to close to home? I’ll still look forward to reading other books by Jessica Pack.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Whatever It Takes has an intriguing premise behind it. But I failed to connect to the main character and found much of her actions and thoughts frustrating. I finished it cause I wanted to find out the mom's story, but getting there wasn't a journey I enjoyed.
There were some parts I can't be mad at, but overall this book wasn't for me.

This book had the opportunity to be really emotional and heartbreaking but way too much happened to really coerce a clear emotion from the reader.

When the book begins, one would think the story would be based on a young woman reconnecting with the memories of her mother who passed from breast cancer, which she is fearing she herself has. This would have been a beautiful plot if the author had truly committed to it. Instead, the story is forced into a twisty mystery that loses sight of the initial plot it began with and loses the reader at the same time. The strong admiration I had for the father ended up dissipating as so many other things occurred that took him away from your focus. When the author tries circling back to the father/daughter relationship at the end, it was already too late and I felt zero empathy for either of them. Lies were told that weren't even warranted and respect that was initially seen seemed weak.

One thing that also rang true for me throughout the entire book was my lack of sympathy for Sienna, the main character. At only 25, I did not put any belief into the strength of her knowledge or the maturity of any of her decisions. The fact that she almost never once could put her own health first without someone forcing her too was just ignorance and being plain selfish. She was not very likable in general. Also, I don't have the least bit of understanding why a past boyfriend was brought up in the first 20 pages, making the reader think there was going to be some sort of rebound or at least personal growth in a relationship sense and then he was mentioned in passing just once more in the remainder of the book. It was like there were subplots thrown against a wall, hoping once would stick and the ones that did just shouldn't have.

Luckily this was a quick read but I just can't help but think the author just tried too hard to make the reader keep guessing when there was no need to. Stick to the basics and create good, strong characters that readers can relate to.

This is the kind of book I really enjoy reading.
The author develops the characters in a very good way, sending the reader into the story and its ups and downs with ease. Sienna finds herself falling off a cliff at the beginning but finds the strength to look for what will set her free. In a way, there has to be mistakes for the welcoming of forgiveness. And the healing is like a promise of future.
A good story perfected by a good writer can only end up in success.

I couldn't get into it. I seemed interesting but in the end I couldn't keep on wasting my time with it.

This book was great! I liked the author's style and was immediately drawn into the story line. It was an emotional story that completely surprised me at the end. I look forward to reading more from Jessica Pack in the future.

This book was really good! I loved the author's style and I was immediately drawn into the story. It was an emotional story that completely surprised me at the end. I look forward to reading more from Jessica Pack in the future.

Thank to netgalley and the author/publisher for the Arc for my honest review. M
This wasn’t what I expected. A good portion of the book is sienna thinking back about her life. She doesn’t begin to search for her. Mom until about half way in. The first half was drawn out, and a bit frustrating to get through.

It got better in the second half, but I just didn’t connect to her.

Sienna and her husband of 5 years have lived apart for the past 6 months. He is working in London - she is helping her father at his ranch in Wyoming.

Sienna finds out that she has breast cancer. She is only 25, but had been told that her mother died from breast cancer at 23. Regardless, Sienna puts off a biopsy and then puts off her next visits. Eventually she tells her husband and he flies in from London to be there for her operation - a lumpectomy. I suppose the fact that she waited too long to tell her dad had to do with him having had cancer, too. Sienna was needed on the ranch! Her father had been her only real support all of her life. She lies to him that she is just seeing her husband, Tyson, instead of telling her dad about the surgery. Tyson had been there for her the week after her surgery. I have been disgusted with Sienna all along! She does what SHE wants and does not think about anyone else's feelings.

Yet, NOW Sienna, not recovered - most likely seems to have a rip roaring infection - also has put off any further treatment to an incision from the surgery that is out of control. She HAS to know more about her mother and eventually goes to Ontario to find any information she can. It turns out not to be a good idea - mentally and certainly not in the physical shape she finds herself in.

The story revs up as we, the readers, find out more about Sienna's mother and more about Sienna and her father. This is a saving glory for the book! I found it to be a fast read and enjoyed it once certain drawn out (the letters) parts were over.

A fast OK read!

Many Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Title: Whatever it Takes
Author: Jessica Park
Pages: 352
Genre: Adult Fiction, Slice of Life
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

This is an Advanced Readers Copy. That means that this is not the final version of the book therefore some facts and quotes are subject to change in the published book. I snagged an arc of this book from Netgalley.

This novel follow Sienna Chadwick, a 25 year old who has just been told she might have cancer. Her whole life falls apart as she remembers that her mom also had breast cancer, or did she? We follow Sienna as she thinks back on her life and about all of the things she has overlooked starting with her mom and her complicated relationship with her husband. I rated this book with 2 out of 5 stars because this is mainly a descriptive novel which failed to hold me attention.

Oh No's
Holy information dump. Why do I care about the entire history of these characters? I literally skimmed the entire book it feels. She had a five page monologue walking past pictures frames and reminiscing about her life. This book is 90% description and 10% dialogue.

 This story is not about finding out the secret of her mother or the fact that she has breast cancer. This story is about Sienna and her inability to listen to anyone but herself.

The multiple perspectives felt so random. I felt the point of view of her father and mother were not needed except for that ending scene.

Yay's
I loved learning about the mother. But, Sienna does not begin her search for her mother until at least halfway through the novel. As I said, this novel mainly focuses on Sienna and her thinking back on her life. When she finally begins to take action and research her mother.

At 25-years-old, Sienna has found herself in the slump of all slumps. She was unable to conceive, her marriage is failing, and she’s been living with her dad for the last year. Just to top things off, she’s now facing a breast cancer diagnosis. Sienna is not ready to share her cancer scare with anyone, but she does want to find out more about her mom, who died from breast cancer when she was kid… or did she? Her dad clams up when questioned, her husband reveals he thinks the milestone letters her mom left behind are bogus, and she can’t find any information about her mom across her dad’s home. Watch Sienna battle the sea of lies that begins to stack up between her and her dad as she investigates the truth about her maternal lineage.

I had a difficult time getting into the story because I felt like I never really got to know Sienna. It’s a shame because it is an interesting story with a good plot, but I felt like Sienna was closed off from us, the readers, even though she is the primary narrator of the story. She holds her cards close to her chest and runs away from her problems, but I just couldn’t get a hold on her because it seemed like part of her was hiding even from her own narrating. That said, I really do feel for her. Between the startling cancer diagnosis and discovering that her family lied to her about her mother, she was under a tremendous amount of shock and stress from beginning to end.

I loved the rotating narrators, but I wish that there were more chapters told from Mark and Grandma Dee’s perspective. I liked their chapters because they gave me more insight on who they were as people and what began the lies about Sienna’s mother and the fake letters. It would’ve been cool if there was a chapter or two from Mark in the present to see him trying to deal with the aftermath of Sienna questioning him.

I had an idea about where Sienna’s mother was and why her family lied to her about it, but it was still interesting to watch the story unfold. The truth was a little different than I thought it was going to be and then there was a twist on top of that, which left me surprised. What a reveal! I am a bit shocked that the big conversation between Sienna and Mark was cut off. We already knew both sides of the story at that point, but that conversation was important, and it cut off and jumped to a few months later. It’s sad that we only got to see part of this conversation, bringing an end to Sienna’s journey, only to skip ahead to the aftermath.

I do recommend this book because it’s fun to watch the story unfold and see how the characters interact with each other. Plus, it’s got a great plot. I’m a sucker for family mysteries like this, which is what drew me to the book. There are a few misses, but overall, the story is a good one.

This book was very hard to get into and the plot was very weak and a huge disappointment
I expected much more from this book

A phenomenal 5 star read for me! A definite page turner that I finished in one day. Well written and great character development. I am very happy to have had the chance to read this book.

This is a novel that really makes you think...and feel. It’s a novel about more than just cancer. It’s about family, love, secrets, choices, strength, weakness, betrayal, forgiveness, life.

Sometimes I wanted to scream at Sienna for being so stubborn and hard headed. I wanted to scream at her for being somewhat selfish over a few things, but that’s the beauty of it. As a parent myself, I think I would have been more understanding and forgiving in her situation, but maybe not. It was a pretty huge situation.

Her family was easy to relate to. Hard working people from the Midwest. But my, how things weren’t as they seemed. How things took a turn, a twist, and then a domino effect, falling down all around Sienna. Poor girl couldn’t catch a break and almost didn’t make it out alive. What a ride!

I definitely recommend this book and will be talking about it to everyone I know, and those I don’t. It left an impression for sure. Also, there is a reading group guide at the end of the book, which I think is nice touch and really appreciate.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for the advanced reader copy of Whatever It Takes in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for a copy of “Whatever it Takes” by Jessica Pack.
3*
How can you reconcile your life when it turns out to be untrue?
Sienna’s story is one of grief, sorrow and layered with lies she believed her entire life. This story is full of raw emotion. Sienna grew up without a mother and it seems the storybook love story her father told her isn’t true. Secrets, even with the best intentions of protecting the ones we love can tear us apart..